Note pads have been introduced into the marketplace in a great variety of shapes and forms. For the most part, their size can be characterized as somewhat compact, in contemplation of a use wherein a short message is written upon them. These messages may, for example, identify a telephone caller or provide a short reminder of meetings to attend, appointements which have been made or the like. Such messages generally have an immediacy about them and, consequently, the sheets upon which the messages are written are posted at some more highly visible location suited to catch the attention of the intended recipient of the information. For instance, they may be tacked to a bulletin board, or leaned against a prominent item on a business desk such as a telephone. Recently, howsewives have taken to magnetically posting reminders to the family on a surface of a refrigerator utilizing small ornamental magets. Of couse, conventional posting procedures require the posting party to locate a thumb tack, magnetic retainer or a piece of adhesive tape to carry out attachment, an inconvenience sometimes minor and, sometimes, exasperating. cl SUMMARY
The present invention is addressed to a novel note padtype assemblage and to the method of its manufacture. Each message carrying sheet of the assemblage is formed incorporating a preattached adhesive bearing polymeric tape. The combined sheet and tape are so configured as to be readily removed from the assemblage, without tearing, one at a time, from first to last. Upon removal, the message-bearing sheet is easily posted at any location by virtue of the exposed adhesive of that portion of the tape protruding beyond an edge of the sheet. The adhesion value of the tape component of each sheet is selected to permit a fascile, not-destructuve removal of the posted message following use.
Another aspect and feature of the invention resides in a "tape-upon-tape" retention of message sheets within as assemblage or pad in combination with a more rigid backing sheet. The tape component of the assemblage serves the dual purpose if retaining the sheets within the assembly and for subsequent posting purposes. To prevent unsightly rippling of the stacked polymeric lengths of tape within the pad, each discrete length thereof is pretensioned, for example, to an extent amounting to about 20% of its specified tensile strength. The pad or assemblage, however, does not curl in consequence of such pretensioning, inasmuch as, due to the adhesive positioning and fixing of one tape surface upon a next adjacent tape surface, there is generated a laminar rigid structuring of polymeric layers. This structuring additionally is observed to contribute a pleasing ornamental aspect to the resultant note pad.
Another feature and object of the invention provides a method for assembling the note pad wherein elongate sheets having a width corresponding to the combined widths of a plurality of pads are assembled upon a backing sheet in sequence in a manner assuring their proper mutual alignment. The technique also serves to assure that the centrally disposed regions of the stacked sheets do not "bloat" i.e. separate vertically within an assembly apparatus in consequence of positioning procedures. Such positioning procedures include the utilization of an inclined assembly surface having two spaced supports. Pretensioning of the polymeric tape, as well as carrying out its proper positioning during assembly is provided through the use of a friction brake tape drum combination with a tape positioning element requiring the removal of tape from a roll thereof at an acute angle with respect to a vertical from the assembly surface. Following assembly of a composite width of pads, discrete assemblages are sheared therefrom by a press cutter or the like.
Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.
The invention, accordingly, comprises the note pad assembly and method of its fabrication having the construction, combination of elements, arrangement of parts and fabricational steps which are exemplified in the following datailed disclosure.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.